South-east England

Although much less fashionable than they were, a set of silver candlesticks can nonetheless prove solid sellers as did these four, above, at Mallams’ (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Oxford on August 23.

The slow, but observable, return of competition for fine Japanese works of art was evident at Hannam’s (20% buyer’s premium) of Selborne on August 23 in the form of this large Meiji ivory scholar’s table screen, below.

A 19th century topaz pendant with cushion-shaped diamond accents raced to £9000 at Mallams’ Silver & Jewellery sale in Oxford on August 23.

A group of six Indo-European solid ebony chairs (sold for £26,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Dawson’s of Maidenhead on August 26. The buyer bidding online via thesaleroom.com was from the London trade.

This Edwardian postcard, showing a hot-chestnut seller in the City of London, was issued by the Rotary Photographic Company in its London Life series.

This bronze statue 'Embracing the Sea' by Jon Buck, created in 1998, sits by the entrance to the pier in the Kent coastal town of Deal, a three-metre tall monument to the town’s boatbuilding and fishing history.

Dawson’s Auctioneers is a relatively fresh-faced newcomer to the auction house scene but is keen to open new chapters of business as soon as possible.

Possibly the most memorable press exposure the Folkestone Triennial has had was at its first event in 2008 when Tracey Emin left a trail of bronzed baby clothes and booties across the town to highlight the numbers of teenage pregnancies across the south-east.

Pieces with a maritime slant proved popular at the sale at Cowes held by HRD Auction Rooms (15% buyer’s premium) on August 3 during the yacht-fest that is Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight.

The next Penman Fair takes place in Hampshire at Petersfield’s Festival Hall. Now in its 44th year, the upcoming edition of the Petersfield Antiques Fair features a focus on 20th century design, new dates and several fresh faces.

Found among the contents of a storage unit, a watercolour of Venice by Edward Lear (1812-88) starred in Brighton General Auctions’ (15% buyer’s premium) sale on July 28.

More than 400 copper, tin and ceramic moulds, collected by the late antiques dealer Andrew Cottrell, were dispersed by timed auction at Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) in Winchester on July 12.